chelsey braham

Vancouver Island has some inspiring sites for those interested in Alternative construction.   I recently went on a tour with some Vancouver Island builders of two very interesting examples of sustainable architecture.

We visited the Eco-sense house located in the highlands just north of Victoria, BC,  and I have to say it was the most fascinating cob home that I have seen and a great example of a fully functional and code approved cob dwelling.   It was beautifully finished and contained endless examples of sustainable design.

The house was built completely of cob (sand, clay and straw),  mixed by roto-tiller,  and is an amazing example of an engineered loadbearing earthen structure.    The walls rest on a concrete foundation,  which in itself was innovative design.  The house is powered by solar panels which draw power from the city grid during the winter months and give power back in the summertime!  The property contained so many examples of great design that it was almost impossible to take them all in.  ( It was the Disneyland of natural building!)   The specs on the house were incredible.    check it out at www.eco-sense.ca

The other stop on our tour was O.U.R. Ecovillage in Shawnigan Lake.    We learned the fascinating history of the Ecovillage which is a sustainable learning centre and demonstration site.   The property was originally a farm with a single house but was able to be rezoned through a long and transformative process which resulted in the inspiring place it is now.    The Ecovillage contains great examples of permaculture design, and beautiful architecture incorporating recycled building materials and inspires and teached thousands of people annually.   Visit them at www.ourecovillage.org

The folks at both Eco-sense and O.U.R. Ecovillage have worked tirelessly with building professionals and city officials to begin to revolutionalize the building code in BC.   It was wonderful to see how this type of building can change hearts and minds!